


They already know so...

by NoTearsFalling



Series: Merlin causes chaos [1]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Angst and Humor, Let Merlin say fuck 2021, Merlin Needs a Hug (Merlin), Merlin is So Done (Merlin), Merlin is a Little Shit, but in this one Merlin just rants a bit, he doesn't get one but he does get to rant so, the story after this one if funny
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-19 07:08:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29871006
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoTearsFalling/pseuds/NoTearsFalling
Summary: Mordred and Morgana have been worried about how obvious Merlin is being about his magic, so they decide to talk to him about it. Merlin’s just done with everyone’s shit and rants about it.
Relationships: Merlin & Mordred (Merlin), Merlin & Morgana (Merlin), Mordred & Morgana (Merlin)
Series: Merlin causes chaos [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2196129
Comments: 7
Kudos: 129





	They already know so...

If Mordred were being completely honest, he was starting to get a bit worried. Emrys had always been so careful with his magic, but ever since the start of Arthur’s reign as king, he’d been starting to get a bit careless. Tree branches fell with increasing frequency, poisoned pitchers clattering noisily out of servants’ hands, and sometimes Mordred felt as if Merlin wasn’t even bothering to hide the glow in his eyes. No one had said anything yet, save for the disapproving glances Morgana would shoot Merlin (and sometimes himself, as if he had any control over the great Emrys), but none of the knights, nobles, nor servants had seemed to notice.

It was starting to become worrisome, and that’s why he and Morgana were going to visit Merlin at the moment. Arthur was training some of the newer knights outside, having given his inner circle a well needed day off, so it was the perfect time to catch Merlin on his own in Arthur’s chambers. As expected, when they opened the door Merlin was doing his chores… with magic! _Damn it, Emrys._ Mordred thought to himself (making sure his lord couldn’t hear his thoughts) with no small amount of stress, _This is exactly the problem. Anyone could have walked in!_

Despite Mordred being absolutely sure he hadn’t transmitted the thought to him, Merlin looked up and seemed to give him a knowing little smirk. It was gone so fast though that maybe it was Mordred’s imagination. The chores did not stop.

“What brings my two favorite magic users here?” Merlin asked, smiling brightly. Behind him, the bed was making itself and the scrolls on Arthur’s desk were rearranging into a semblance of order.

Morgana hissed and quickly shut the door behind her, “Merlin, anyone could have heard that! Magic is still banned, even if Arthur hasn’t gone in search of a witchfinder like Uther did.”

Merlin’s face darkened at her words, and he opened his mouth as if to speak, but Mordred quickly interrupted him, knowing it needed to be said, “Emrys please. Lady Morgana is right. Arthur may not be his father, but he does not yet understand magic, and it is too dangerous for you to go gallivanting around using your powers. If someone turns you in, they may call for your execution. Arthur never would kill you of course, but he might have to banish you at the behest of the people!”

Merlin’s mouth had snapped shut for a moment during his short speech, and he stood there for a moment silently, eyes flitting back and forth between Mordred and Morgana. Then, in a move neither of them saw coming, Merlin doubled over with laughter. He laughed until his breath was coming out in gasps, and his ears turned red. Mordred and Morgana looked at each other in bewilderment.

“My… my lord?”

It took a few long minutes for Merlin to calm down as he would occasionally catch sight of either of their faces and double over laughing again. Behind him a feather duster started dusting the bookshelf and drapes.

Finally, Merlin managed to catch a hold of himself, his eyes crinkled in continued merth. He straightened and adjusted his scarf, which had gone askew to reveal the beginnings of a scar Mordred had not known was on his collarbone. Merlin’s grin was filled with amusement, “Guys, everyone knows I have magic except Arthur and the knights of the round table. Well Lancelot knows, but I think he’s managed to make himself forget at opportune times. I don’t understand it myself, so don’t ask me how _that_ happened.”

“Merlin. Did I just hear you right? _Everyone_ knows you have magic?” Morgana’s voice got high pitched at this, something Mordred had never heard from her before but fully agreed with in the current moment. He felt like screaming.

Merlin nodded, turning serious for a moment, “When Uther started his decline, I realized that the people would need to have a transition period if they were ever going to accept magic. I started small, a caught vase here, a slightly brighter flower there. They were things that could easily be described as a trick of the light and showed how harmless magic was. I started with the people who had looked most upset by the executions and built from there.”

He started to pace as he continued, “From there, I built up the acts I did, showed them to more people, always in the presence of those who hadn’t given away my magic yet. I listened in on conversations. Everyone knows me, knows what kind of person I am. I’ve lived in this castle for nearly a decade, and people started to connect the dots between my magic and the fact that Camelot and Arthur have remained safe for so long.”

“The knights, the servants, the nobles, even most of the town folk, they all know I have magic.” Merlin’s lips seemed to quirk up for a moment, “Though, somehow they seem to think that I am unaware of their knowledge. I was so young and clumsy and lost when I came to Camelot that they think I haven’t grown out of it. They probably think me a bit stupid and obvious.” Here Merlin’s lips dipped down for a moment, as if involuntarily, before his face resumed his normal ease, “But I have spent my whole life hiding my magic, having to watch my people die around me as I was powerless to stop it for fear of my own death.”

Merlin stopped pacing, and suddenly Mordred saw a joy in his eyes that he hadn’t known he’d been missing before, “Now that I know the people don’t hate me for my magic, I intend to have a little fun with it. All of them refuse to let me know they know about my magic, probably out of some misguided intent to ‘protect me from myself’, so I’ve decided to see how much I can get away with before they’ll call me out on it, how much they’ll let me get away with.”

Morgana spoke up first to rebuke him, “Merlin, if people know you have magic, wouldn’t it be better to let them know you’re aware of their knowledge?”

“ _Why should I?!?_ ” Merlin’s answer came so quickly and vehemently that Morgana and Mordred both took a step away from him at the same time. All magic in the room stopped, but his eyes still burned a bright gold. There was a fury in them that Mordred had never seen before, “I know you have both suffered a lot for your magic, don’t mistake my words, but both of you came into your powers later. Morgana you were at the cusp of womanhood, and Mordred you were still a young boy, but both of you came into your powers. It was a shock, but you still both had some semblance of a normal childhood. I never had that. I was born with magic. I _am_ magic. You don’t know what it’s like, to have your first memory being that of your mother telling you to hide what you _were born as_ so you aren’t _**burned on a fucking pyre**_.”

“I have spent my whole life having nightmares of pyres and hangings and having my head cut off. I’ve seen people die around me and held their screams inside myself like they were my own. And I _felt their deaths_. I felt the ripple that an unjust death cast through the fabric of the world.” Merlin took a deep breath, as if there was more that he wanted to say, as if he was reigning himself in. He probably was. He had been doing so his whole life after all, “I don’t have an obligation to tell _anyone_ about something that could get me killed. If they don’t have the decency to tell me they know, then that’s their problem. Not mine.”

Merlin was quiet for a moment before his face yet again lit up in the bright smile that he usually had. The sad thing was that Mordred honestly couldn’t tell if it was a real smile or a fake one. Merlin’s smile turned lopsided and impish as if he hadn’t been ranting angrily moments prior, and his tone turned playful, “So I want to have a little fun, cause a little chaos, can you really blame me?”

Mordred spoke what both he and Morgana were thinking, “No, my lord, we can not.”

“Then that begs a very, very important question.” Merlin spun in place to pick up the laundry that his magic had collected in a basket, jutting out his hip to rest it there.

“What?” Morgana asked for the two of them, her eyes bright and earnest.

Merlin turned to them, his smile sharp and mischievous, a mix of playful and danger. It was too bright and had too many teeth. His eyes glinted gold, “Do you wanna join me?”

And well, after all he had said, there was only one answer they could have given to that, wasn’t there? _Yes._

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is the serious partner to my other fic: Oh, so this is your fault?
> 
> Let my boy rant damn it.


End file.
